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Get in the Halloween spirit by having Kirk Hammett read you Edgar Allen Poe, soundtracked by a Metallica song
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has marked Halloween by reading Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 poem *The Raven*, accompanied by the band’s song “Inamorata”. The performance brings together his interest in horror with a Gothic literary classic and a track from Metallica’s 2023 album *72 Seasons*.
Hammett, 63, has long celebrated horror through guitars decorated with film characters and a Ouija board design, and through his Fear FestEvil convention, held from 2014 to 2015. He has spoken about being frightened by *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* and *The Exorcist* as a child. A Metallica member since 1983, he is performing with the band at a Las Vegas Sphere residency scheduled to include a Halloween-night show.
In short
- Kirk Hammett reads Poe’s *The Raven* with Metallica’s “Inamorata”.
- The performance pairs the 1845 poem with a 2023 Metallica song.
- Hammett has a long-standing interest in horror films and culture.
Explained simply
Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th-century American writer known for stories and poems about mystery, death and the uncanny. His poem The Raven, published in 1845, follows a grieving man visited by a raven whose repeated word deepens his despair.
Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist of Metallica, the American heavy metal band he joined in 1983. He has also pursued horror-related interests, including collecting film memorabilia and organising a horror convention called Fear FestEvil.
The performance connects Poe’s Gothic poetry with Metallica’s music and Hammett’s interest in horror. “Inamorata” appeared on the band’s 2023 album 72 Seasons, while The Raven remains one of Poe’s best-known works.